When HP decided to open source some of its webOS assets, I wondered what might become of the effort. Clearly, I wasn’t thinking enough of the tinkerers out there that port software to new smartphones and tablets because those very folks have wasted no time in getting Open webOS on at least three devices already.

The low-cost Raspberry Pi — a small, $35 computer with an ARM chip and various other input/output components — is already running on the Open webOS platform, courtesy of an enthusiast known as “aaa801.” The system boots into a terminal console on the Raspberry Pi as there wasn’t a user interface available at the time of the project. But HP surely has an interface: The company ported Open webOS to an HP SmartTouch computer, building a desktop-like version of the webOS environment:

Last up — for now, anyway — are reports of the Asus Transformer Prime being the latest Open webOS device: The Android tablet has a work-in-progress version of Open webOS that sounds promising, mainly because the Prime has a keyboard dock to go with the touchscreen tablet. Again, like the other ports, there’s a ways to go before folks can easily install the new platform on a Prime and run it without fear of crashes or other issues. Still, progress is being made in short order.

So what’s to be gained here for fans of Open webOS? I’m thinking of a system that’s similar to Google Android in that it can easily be tweaked and installed as people see fit but without the backing of carriers. That second point is a good one in my eyes. Carriers still have an abundance of control over which mobile devices and platforms are supported. If Open webOS maintains or increases its momentum, it could be the platform where users are in control. Not the majority of users, of course — most people still like supported ecosystems and devices — but for a select group, Open webOS will continue to live on and on.